As for Afghanistan...it’s like watching the rerun of a movie that already flopped the first time around, by Max Elbaum, from War Times,

BLIND GUIDES!... BLIND FOOLS! THE BLOOD YOU SHED ON YOU WILL FALL!(fr: MT 23: 24-35)













MORE ESCALATION IN AFGHANISTAN?
http://www.war-times.org/pdf/WT-MiR-Aug09.pdf

As for Afghanistan, it’s like watching the rerun of a movie that already flopped the first time
around. Foreign troops invading and occupying a county under the banner of freedom and
democracy. An insurgency that grows with each civilian killed in the occupiers “keep-U.S.-
casualties-down” bombing runs. A corrupt government, full of human rights violators and drug
traffickers. U.S. generals saying “the war is in danger of being lost” and what we need is “more
troops.”
(It’s true that in the case of Afghanistan the ideological outlook and political program of the
insurgent core – the Taliban – is quite different from the mostly progressive perspectives that
have fueled the majority of anti-colonial resistance movements. As a result, most of
Afghanistan’s neighbors, and many Afghans, are determined to resist a Taliban return to
power. But that does not alter the fact that foreign occupation is a recipe for endless bloodshed
and that no solution can be achieved by military means. It only means that the final shape of a
political settlement will likely be different, and involve regional powers differently, than those
that ended or accompanied other colonial/anti-colonial wars.)
The immediate point is that another decision-making moment is at hand. The New York Times
reported August 24 that U.S. military commanders are on the verge of a formal request for
more troops and adds: “The possibility that more troops will be needed in Afghanistan presents
the Obama administration with another problem in dealing with a nearly eight-year war that
has lost popularity at home, compounded by new questions over the credibility of the Afghan
government, which has just held an as-yet inconclusive presidential election beset by
complaints of fraud.”
What The Times considers a problem is in fact an opportunity for the administration to change
course toward de-escalation, negotiation and withdrawal. The potential to mount pressure to do
exactly that exists. The latest polls show a majority of the U.S. public thinks the war is a
mistake. Sen. Russell Feingold has just broken what the mainstream press calls a “Washington
taboo” by calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Afghanistan.
And grassroots antiwar groups have begun preparing for a new round of mass demonstrations
in October. Building on each of these components – expanding antiwar public opinion,
amplifying “time to get out” voices on Capitol Hill, and filling the streets with antiwar chants –
Month in Review #52 — August 31, 2009 / 4
can create the climate where the administration can put into practice its “there is no military
solution” rhetoric rather than its “we must be in a position of strength” recipe for disaster.
Among the websites where you can get action information about ending the war in Afghanistan
are: www.unitedforpeace.org and www.peace-action.org/.